Lose Her
by Shuffle Princess
Summary: For Mesh. Merry 'late' Christmas! When the best friends talk about their wives, they realize they have one thing in common: they would do anything just so they wouldn't lose the one they love. /RxH, NxM/ /One Shot/ /Ruka's POV/


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gakuen Alice and the characters used. The plot of this fanfiction is all I own.**

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><p><em><strong>For <strong>_**Mesh.**

_**Merry Christmas!**_

_**Sorry for being your post-Christmas Santa. OTL**_

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><p><strong>Title: <strong>Lose Her

**Genre: **Friendship/Romance

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **When the best friends talk about their wives, they realize they have one thing in common: they would do anything just so they wouldn't lose the one they love.

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><p><strong>Lose Her<strong>

Written by **LunarChan**

Betaread by **Ridley Silverlake**

(A Gakuen Alice One Shot)  
>[Written in Ruka Nogi's POV]<p>

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><p><em>...<em>

"_The best way to not hurt yourself is to never put a question mark when someone has already placed period."_

_..._

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><p>The sun shone up in the sky as Natsume and I stopped in our tracks at the bus stop to wait for the old bus to arrive. I could feel the intense heat crawling up on every surface of my body as I exhaled audibly while my hands slightly loosened the tie on my neck.<p>

"Darn it," I heard Natsume curse, so I turned to look at him. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face, causing him to wipe it with his navy blue handkerchief. "Stupid car. Why did it have tobreak down today, of all days?"

Natsume's father is on an extended vacation at the moment, which means their company is currently under Natsume's hands. And we need the car to get to the main office. So it's true. Stupid car for being broken today. How lucky could we get? And to top it all off, we have an important meeting today and it's only a matter of twenty minutes—make that nineteen minutes—until it starts.

Yeah, just how lucky could we get?

"Yeah. Stupid car." I chuckled lightly and wiped my sweat off of my forehead. "Mr. CEO gets to ride the bus."

He annoyingly took a glimpse at the time on his Rolex wristwatch. Another grunt escaped his lips and I couldn't help but smile.

"It's rare to see Mr. Cool CEO ticked off like this." I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Ruka."

The bus arrived just in time and it made us both groan with irritation. It was packed with people, and you could see from the outside just how much people stood inside, holding on to the poles and rails, hoping they wouldn't touch other people in the wrong places.

Same question: how lucky could we really get?

"Wait for another bus or...?"

Just when my voice trailed off, he immediately replied, "Ride." It wasn't an option. It was an order.

A smile curled its way to my lips. I hopped up the bus and we both settled in the middle.

My nose wrinkled at the unpleasant smell. Sweat mixed with heavy-scented perfume wasn't really a healthy scent to inhale inside a fully-loaded bus.

Natsume snorted in disgust. "What a scent to inhale and pick up before our meeting."

I let out a throaty laugh and the bus' loud engine completely evened it out.

The ride was unexpectedly fast that we still had five minutes to spare.

I sighed as I realized that my ironed shirt was now a crumpled from all the people huddled together in the bus in this rush hour. Chagrin washed throughout me and I sniffed my long-sleeved shirt, which made me snort, as some of the sweaty smell was now stuck on me.

"Three minutes." Natsume reminded me and I nodded.

We both rode the elevator to the eighth floor.

"So how's Mikan?" I asked out of the blue and he looked taken aback.

"Still the same." He shrugged. "She's still the one to bring drama herself and then cry about it."

"Never changed." I agreed and chuckled lightly.

"So, when's your wife coming back?"

"I don't know, Mr. CEO. You're the one who assigned her to that snapshot project." I reminded him and he smirked a little."You little devil."

"Who's the devil?" He laughed a little. "You're the one who told my wife that you saw me with another girl and you know what happened next."

"A night full of sermon." That made me roar another laugh.

"Now that's evil."

The elevator gave off a light _ding_, accenting Natsume's remark. We both made our way to our own offices before dashing to the meeting room, making it just in time, right when the clock struck 2:30PM.

They all stood up in recognition and Natsume nodded at them. He motioned for us to sit down at our respective places and he started the meeting.

**-xXxXx-**

I entered the Men's bathroom after Natsume entered two minutes ago.

"Natsume, you got a kiss mark!" A strained laugh came out through my lips as I pointed at the woman's lipstick mark on his right collar.

"Shit." He cursed he tried to wipe it off with his handkerchief. He let his hanky get wet under the faucet and tried wiping it again. "I might've gotten this at the bus."

The mark had been just a mere smudge, but it's still slightly visible through his white polo shirt.

"You're going straight home?" I questioned as I washed my hands.

"Guess so." He shrugged.

"If you don't have any plans for tonight why not celebrate for that successful meeting we had earlier? Your first ever client, Natsume!" I wiped my hands. "It needs a celebration."

"But _Polka_ is waiting for me at home." He reasoned.

"Then tell her you're going to get home later than the usual." I insisted. "Come on, Mr. CEO."

"Well, it's easy for you to say since nobody is waiting for you at home."

"I know. I'm too lonely." I faked a laugh and he snorted.

He sighed. He knew I wasn't going to let him off the hook. "Okay, okay."

"I'm going to text Koko and the others."

He groaned and I laughed.

**-xXxXx-**

My head slightly hurt as I tried to find the keys of my house in my messy bag. "Keys, keys, where did I put you?" I heard the keys jingle and I reached for it at the deepest part of my bag. "Sheesh. Is this bag a blackhole?" The moment my hand felt the cold surface of my keys, I grabbed it and slid it into the keyhole. With the flicker of my wrist, it opened and I hastily slipped the key back into my bag.

I was resting my head on the soft pillow on our sofa when I heard someone pounding on the door. It was loud, annoying and demanding.

Grunting, I stood up and almost slipped, blinded by a head rush.

I carefully made my way to the door and unlocked it, revealing a panting and sobbing Mikan.

"M-Mikan?" I blinked twice and patted her head. "What brings you here?" I glanced at my wristwatch. "At this hour of the night?"

"Where is Hotaru?" She wept, her voice unclear.

"She's working on a project and won't be back until tomorrow midnight, I think," I replied, the curiosity building up inside me. I know Mikan. She had a problem. And I know what her problem is about. It's about her husband, my bestfriend, Natsume Hyuuga.

"What's the matter?" I tried to ask again. "Oh, come on in." I invited her inside and she just stood there while wiping her tears off her face. "What happened? Tell me."

"Oh, Ruka!" She then grabbed fistfuls of my shirt and cried. She sniffed and then she glared at me.

"What?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"You're drunk." She accused.

"I drank a wee bit alcohol, but I am not a drunk," I said defensively. I think I know where this is leading. "That's two different things."

"You're drunk!" She almost screamed and she stomped her foot. Her heels clacked through our tiled floors. She gave off a loud grunt and made her way to the door, but I grabbed her arm.

"Hey, hey wait." I tried to stop her. "What is it? You can tell me, Mikan." I assured her. "I'm not drunk. And... I'm your second best friend." I reminded her.

She stopped and stared at me for a few seconds before her slouched position turned into an upright one and she cried once again. Tears streamed down her face.

"It's Natsume..." She began.

I knew it.

"He... He cheated on me!" Her voice turned up an octave higher and I could clearly hear the pain and sadness in her tone.

"What? How?"

Her eyes turned gloomy, she looked so angry that she almost spit the next words to my face. "Don't play dumb, my second best friend," she emphasized the last three words sarcastically. "You were with him earlier, right? You two went to a bar with girls swarming all around you!"

"What?" Now it was my turn to scream. "We didn't! Who told you such things?"

"Well, unfortunately, my husband can't get the evidence off of his polo shirt completely. The smudged red lipstick! And he wiped it with his hanky. I found the remnants there, too." She deduced and sniffed while glaring at me. "And here I thought you were a good husband to my best friend!" She pointed a finger at me. "You...! I'm telling Hotaru the moment she comes back tomorrow."

She started to walk away and I grabbed her wrists. She winced.

"Hey, wait. Stop jumping to conclusions, Mikan." I sighed and scratched through my blonde locks of hair. "Ugh... I'm not good at explanations but..." I sighed again. "Look. Your husband's car was broken, right?"

"Let go of me!" She yelled and tried to break free of my grip. I gripped her so tightly that she cringed.

"Listen to me first, okay? Then I'll let you go."

She debated on that with herself for a moment before turning her head to me and curling her lips downwards. "Fine."

"We needed to get to the main office of Uncle's—or your father's—company because the meeting with a client was going to be held there. And we rode the bus that was jam-packed and stinky. He got that mark on the way back. I don't know how. But Mikan, I wouldn't lie to you." I shook my head and flinched as the images of me lying to her corrupted my mind. It's impossible and one can always see the truth when I lie to them. My face is too obvious. "I convinced him that we needed to celebrate since it was his first time getting a client. He refused at first, but I insisted for him to come and I invited Koko and the others to come at a local bar. But that's all." I stared at her, hoping it would implant on her system. "Local. Bar." I repeated. "No strippers, or whatever it was you thought touched your husband. You can ask Koko and the others."

Her lips quivered and she started to sob once more.

"Didn't he tell you?"

"He did." Her head bobbed up slightly. "But I didn't trust him. I asked him a lot of questions and he answered none of them."

"Mikan, the best way to not hurt yourself is to never put a question mark when he's already placed a period... And an end to your suspicion."

"But what if he lied to me? That's what entered my mind." Her sobs turned into little whimpers.

"Natsume would never cheat on you," I reassured her. "I'd be the one to punch him for you if he did."

She wiped her tears away and tried to smile. "T-Thanks Ruka... I... I'm sorry... For the trouble."

"Nah, it's okay." I shook my head. "At least things got cleared up."

"I should head home now. Natsume must be very worried about me now." She worriedly stated and with a quick hug, she left.

That girl really brings drama herself.

**-xXxXx-**

"Why didn't you insist that that was the truth?" I asked Natsume as we both rode the elevator.

He pressed the button that leads to the eighth floor and merely shrugged. "It's hard to explain things to her when she's close-minded like that."

"But still..."

He sighed now and looked at me. "It's better to lose the argument than to lose her, Ruka."

A smile spread across my face. "I know. I would let Hotaru take pictures of me, too, even if it's really uncomfortable... Because I don't want to lose her either."

He laughed a mellow laugh and he let his fist collide with mine. "Because the argument is not worth it."

"Right. The humiliation is not worth it..."

"I'd take endless sermons from her just so I wouldn't lose her."

"I would let her snoop photos of me all day long if that's what makes her happy."

"I'd buy Howalons if that's what she craves for."

"That's spoiling her, Natsume."

"Says the guy who keeps on buying crab brains for his wife."

We grinned at each other, we understood how the other felt about hiswife because we both care for them so much. It's better to lose something else. Just let them be a part of our lives. Well, not just a part, but to be with them as long as we live.

Our other knuckles clunked to each other and we were now facing each other with plastered grins on our faces. We then knocked our heads together—a clash of black and yellow—still grinning at each other.

The elevator _dinged _and as the door opened, the people waiting for the lift gasped and their mouths were hanging open. They started murmuring and greeted us a _Good morning _with their fake smiles on.

We both straightened up and nodded at them. As soon as we reached Natsume's office, we both broke into loud guffaws.

"You looked like an idiot." He teased.

"Says the guy who looked like total crap there."

"Gay."

"Who's gay?" A certain raven-haired girl entered the office with a huge professional-looking camera strapped around her neck. Her amethyst eyes stared at Natsume.

"Your husband." He smirked.

"Oh so he prefers you over me." She smiled a little and it was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

She put a brown envelope on top of Natsume's table and a folder that held several papers inside. "Done."

"Good job, Imai." Natsume nodded and she glanced at me before heading out.

"Bye." I waved at Natsume and left his officeto search for her.

"So you're gay, huh?" Her tone was slightly amused.

I saw her leaning on my chair inside my office while she positioned her DSLR to steal a photo of me. Since I missed her, I think it would be alright to let her take photos of me today.

"Jealous that I spent time with Natsume?" I chuckled as I reached my table. I let my fingers stroke her cheek.

"Not really." She smiled widely, showing her perfect set of white teeth. "Because I have this." She showed me a picture again. It was an embarrassing picture that she promised me she'd delete. She laughed as a frown embedded on my face.

"Now that is unfair."

"Life was never fair. Haven't you heard?" She took another glimpse at the photo and laughed mildly. The sound of her laugh filled my ears and I realized I missed it when she was away.

I'll let her off the hook today. But tomorrow is another day. That photo has to be deleted.

And I just can't help but realize just how lucky I could really get.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

**Hi MESH! I'm your Secret Santa. XD**

**I hope you like this. XD And... Stay awesome. :3**

**OTL. The audio/video you requested will be delayed. I am so sorry. Forgive me.**

**Love,**

**_Janee._**

**P.S.: Readers, do not forget a review. Thanks. :))**


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